I am completely new at owning a sailboat,, i have a 1977 Columbia 9.6 and looking for some advise. I am wanting to install a window unit in the engine compartment over the engine in the compainionway ladder. I am worried about air flow through the coils, but not sure if the vents for the compartment will be sufficient to allow enough air circulation?>
Window unit AC install
- Thread starter DRW400
- Start date
Blowing hot A/C exhaust air into a boat seems counterproductive.
You really need the get the heat out of the boat…so it must exhaust outside.
i put my window AC in the companionway, and blocked off the area around the unit. It is not convenient for getting in and out of the cabin, and iI had to remove it when I wanted to go sailing.
A free-standing AC could work (these use hoses to exhaust the hot air out of the boat). They are not very efficient, but it would offer a little cooling. the unit takes up a lot of space though and needs to be secured when sailing.
A marine AC is the most efficient way to cool a boat, but they are expensive and require a thruhull, water pump, ducting, etc. I struggle to find a good spot to install a marine AC on my 32’ boat.
Greg
i put my window AC in the companionway, and blocked off the area around the unit. It is not convenient for getting in and out of the cabin, and iI had to remove it when I wanted to go sailing.
A free-standing AC could work (these use hoses to exhaust the hot air out of the boat). They are not very efficient, but it would offer a little cooling. the unit takes up a lot of space though and needs to be secured when sailing.
A marine AC is the most efficient way to cool a boat, but they are expensive and require a thruhull, water pump, ducting, etc. I struggle to find a good spot to install a marine AC on my 32’ boat.
Greg
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,333
Welcome to SBO. Congratulations on finding your boat.
Seems like already you are making plans to make the boat your own. Something more than the boat you bought.
What you choose to do often needs to be driven by how you want to use the boat.
A window unit plugged into the dock AC power works while you are at the dock.
If you wish to go sailing then you’ll need to invest (Break Out Another Thousand “BOAT” or more) in a generator powered AC unit which you can use while at anchor in some secluded bay.
Once you decide on the type of unit and the boat use expected the answers are more easily found.
Seems like already you are making plans to make the boat your own. Something more than the boat you bought.
What you choose to do often needs to be driven by how you want to use the boat.
A window unit plugged into the dock AC power works while you are at the dock.
If you wish to go sailing then you’ll need to invest (Break Out Another Thousand “BOAT” or more) in a generator powered AC unit which you can use while at anchor in some secluded bay.
Once you decide on the type of unit and the boat use expected the answers are more easily found.
Yes, this is what I have done so far is. Just put in regular AC in the companionway. But I am trying to find a place to mount on this 32. It just really does not have room to mount anything. And that was going to be really the only option that I had. I know that the engine compartment is vented and with a small fan that I can hook up on the exhaust side to make it pull air out even better. This is what I was thinking but I was not sure and I really don't want to keep in a companion way.Move it every time I take it out to sail
Even if one could provide good exhaust venting, the thought of having an ac unit at the top of the engine compartment all the time would be a show stopper for me. It would make an already tight space nearly impossible to do routine engine maintenance. You might consider one of the RV type ac units over one of your hatches.
The flow rate of your “small exhaust fan” would have to be greater than the exhaust air flow from an A/C unit.
The condensate from the A/C would have to drain outside the boat or you just add more water/humidity.
The noise and vibration would likely be unacceptable in a small boat.
Nobody wants to spend $$$ on a real A/C sysytem for a boat but they do because it’s worth it.
Portable AC units come in a number of different flavors with varying degrees of efficiency. The units that use two hoses work far better than the single hose units. The latter sucks the air that it has just cooled, out of the room to keep itself cool. I have a 13k dual hose unit in the front of my shop. We initially hooked it up in a single hose configuration. It took hours for the temperature to drop. In a properly sealed, dual hose configuration it takes 20-40 minutes. Check on youtube, there's a few videos on how someone has converted a window unit to be water cooled
I installed a 10k btu Webasto FCF unit in my C30. Put it in a hanging closet with minimal need for duct work to blow cool or warm air into the cabin. I prepped for it while the boat was out of the water by installing an above water discharge thru hull and a 3/4" intake thru hull/ valve and strainer for the cooling water. It's been in use for 3 seasons.
